Amex Braces For ‘Uneven’ Quarters Ahead

Payments giant American Express reiterated its financial outlook extending out through 2017, indicating that slowing revenue growth would have only a limited impact.

The financial projections were part of comments by the company ahead of a Friday (Sept. 18) presentation in New York at a Barclays’ financial services conference. The projections were made by Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Campbell.

The company said it is expecting to see earnings per share in a rough range of flat to slightly down from the $5.39 that had been disclosed last year. The Street, in the meantime, has a consensus estimate that shows an increase to $5.49 in 2015.

But looking ahead, the company sees growth resuming in 2016 and in 2017, double-digit velocity of as much as 12 percent to 15 percent “remains appropriate,” said the CFO, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The executive said that American Express is going to have “more unevenness in our performance from quarter to quarter than has been typical of our business.” That is due in part to revenue growth that is slower for the current quarter than had been seen in the June period, a quarter in which the company saw $8.3 billion in its top line, as billings actually decline for a short period.

Amex has had a bumpy road over the past few years, with the termination of a partnership with Costco through the United States and Canada. There has also been a question mark in the way the company charges its merchants. And despite the reaffirmation of its long-term goals, financial at least, through the next few years, recent quarterly results have missed expectations, amid slower rates of consumer spending. Over the summer, activist investment firm ValueAct took a stake in Amex, with total holdings at less than 5 percent of the company.